Warriors: The Lost Warrior
by Zelda48
Summary: It has been many moons since Firestar died to save ThunderClan from the paws of the Dark Forest warriors. During that time prosperity and a new sense of kinship and peace thrived within the clans. But eventually all good things come to an end. Follow a rouge named Gray as he searches for the truth amid a time where the only friend he has is himself and danger lurks in the dark.


**Allegiances:**

The Ancients:

Rock

Running Wind

Fallen Leaves

Midnight

Local Kittypets:

Mr. Fluffy

Buttersnips

Peter

Selena

Others:

Jeremiah

Rosepelt

Twilight

 **Chapter 1**

The sun bore down upon the wide plain as a lone figure made his way across the landscape. There was not a single cloud in the sky, and with the sun now at its highest point, the temperature was at its hottest. The figure sniffed and shook his head in disbelief. It was an unusually warm day, especially so early in Greenleaf. Of course, it didn't seem to matter what season it was in this climate. Everything was always the same, dry heat during the day, and punishing cold during the night. To make matters worse, there was virtually no shade to be found for a moment of relief, let alone a shelter from the sun. Simply put, resting was, much of the time, not an option. Indeed, it was so hot outside that the air seemed to dance around like waves on water and the hard dark thunderpath, which was the only structure for foxlengths around, glittered like dewdrops in the sunlight.

To the traveler's dismay, the flat area surrounding the thunderpath was also heavily marked by the climate. Unlike most soil elsewhere, it was utterly devoid of water. It was light brown, dusty, and cracked for want of moisture. As he had long since deduced, it had not rained in the area in a very, very long time. Just how long was almost beyond comprehension, it had to have been thousands of moons at the least, maybe more. Once in a while, a strange metallic post appeared, seemingly from straight out of the ground, bearing on its head a sign with various characters inscribed on it. The figure, who had been traveling this lonely path for a long time, had never been able to decipher what any of the signs were trying to tell him. But they weren't completely useless as they did give him some idea of where he was, however crude. So far, he was on his sixth or seventh sign.

The figure was a cat, although the few creatures he had come across on his journey seemed to see him that way. He was rather large for a cat, double the size or more of those who had crossed him, with a mane of gray and black fur, a white stripe down his nose, great green eyes, and two huge front paws that had been likened to those of a lion. A lion huh? the cat snorted. Was he really that large? He wondered about it sometimes. He was always being mistaken for another creature. In fact, the last cat he had seen, around a dozen days prior, had mistook him for a badger. The one before that ran into him at night and thought he was a raccoon. Both of them had quickly fled. The large cat sighed at the memory, being big did have its downsides. His name was Gray, or that's what he thought it was. He had been on his own for so long even the most benign details of his past had become difficult to remember. Not that he really wanted to, that is.

Gray did have a nice sound to it.

"Gray." he repeated his name fondly. Sometimes the only thing he was certain of was his name. Even if he didn't know what his birth name was, he knew he had a name. And that name was Gray. Strange as it was, but in his darkest days this knowledge was the only thing that kept Gray going. That gave him the will to go on in bad times.

Now was one of those times.

"Rat's droppings it's hot out here." Gray groaned as he plodded alongside the thunderpath. "Why is it always so hot...?"

He hated the heat, almost as much as the twolegs and their awful contraptions. To the furless twolegs, which he had often seen playing in the sunlight, the heat might not be much of a bother. But to him, under his mass of fur, it was utterly unbearable. His fur soaked up the heat and trapped it inside him like a furnace. So every step Gray took became difficult and he had to rest at frequent intervals to keep from dropping dead on the ground like a freshly killed vole. And even then Gray could not rest for long as both the thunderpath and the soil were so hot laying upon them for the shortest of intervals sent fierce burning sensations through his fur and caused him to yowl in pain. The pain was especially bad the few times he had attempted to lay on the thunderpath. All he was left with was to rest at night, which he did, with little comfort. Gray missed the soft mosses and bedding he had grown accustomed to laying on. He couldn't get comfortable out here, which had caused him to spend many a restless night out on the plains thereby further taxing his energies in the day. To make matters worse, as if that were possible, Gray was lame. His front paw was forever twisted at an odd angle which made walking a constant battle and running nigh impossible. He had had this injury as long as he could remember. Naturally, the combination of all these factors had slowed his progress considerably as he made his way through the plains. Indeed he had only traveled past three of the signs in the past four days.

It was torture.

Gray opened his mouth and sucked in the dry air and drowsily glanced around him. Once again there was nothing but flat, cracked soil for all to see. _Great StarClan_ he sighed, _how did I get into this?_ Ever since Gray had entered the flatlands that question never ceased to pop up in his mind. Why on earth would he come here? This place, which had no prey, no water, and no shelter, _was_ hell after all. Gray shook his head as he doggedly moved onward, he had no idea why he'd come here. He didn't know what he was doing here. Heck, he didn't even know where he was going here. But he had an idea about all of these things. He knew that once, many moons ago, he had been in a great forest with ample prey and water and cats all around him. He knew that, at one time, he had friends there. He had even had a lover. Rosepelt. That was her name. Gray might have forgotten about many things but he had never forgotten about Rosepelt. He swore he never would.

Gray's eyes brightened at the thought of her, almost making him forget about the hellish climate around him. She was beautiful, both in appearance and in spirit. He had gone to see her in secret many times where he would say sweet things and press his body against hers, savoring their collective warmth. It had made him so happy. He had told her he loved her and she did the same. They had planned to run away together, he was sure of that. Yes, he had planned it all, they would go somewhere remote, where no one could keep them apart anymore. The mountains were a possibility, hardly anyone went there. And then he and Rosepelt could be together for as long as they lived. It had been all he ever wanted.

But then they had been separated. Gray felt a well of sadness rise up in him as he remembered how she was taken from him. Gray hissed and pounded on the ground with his paw. One night, someone had found them. They... they took her away... he shuddered at the memory and flopped down on the earth. They took her to somewhere remote... he growled as he felt the searing pains shoot through him but he didn't care. He had a vision of the plains months ago, the same plains he was in now, of her calling his name. _Gray,_ she said, her soft, sweet voice reverberating in his ears, _Gray_ , _I love you..._

 _I love you._

But yet here he was. Here he was, in this place far from anything and everything he had ever known. And Rosepelt was nowhere to be found let alone a mouse. He was tired, he was weak, and he was dying. And he would do anything, go anywhere, and fight anyone to be with his love. That was why he was out here wasn't it? It was why he was slowly roasting to death under the sky. It was for her. There could be no other reason.

"Rosepelt." Gray said softly as the sun blazed down on his mottled fur, "Rosepelt come back... please." He grimaced in pain as he heaved himself off the ground and continued forward. He had to keep moving. "Please come back."

He wasn't going to make it.


End file.
